The deliberative classroom.
A few years ago, Stanford law professor Norman Spaulding, JD ’97, started hearing from students who had tales of being dumped off social lists and disinvited from dinners for sharing unpopular viewpoints. And they weren’t alone. In a 2021 survey of students from 159 U.S. universities, more than 80 percent of respondents reported self-censoring their viewpoints at college at least some of the time. What’s more, that was true across the ideological spectrum. “It’s not just conservative students. It’s not just progressive students. It’s not just students in the middle,” Spaulding told Stanford magazine.
But there are proven ways to combat that self-censorship and make dialogue constructive. To that end, Spaulding and Paul Brest, former Stanford Law School dean and professor emeritus, piloted the ePluribus Project to help law students learn and practice constructive dialogue over controversial topics. The project is now one of more than a dozen related efforts across campus. “I think that what has made the issue urgent now is the increasing polarization of our society, where you tend to demonize people who you disagree with,” said Brest. The more that phenomenon is affecting students, “the greater the need is to take measures to counter it.” When have you benefited from a constructive disagreement? Let us know.
Partnerships, academic freedom, and the university’s responsibility.
At the April 10 Faculty Senate meeting, university president Jonathan Levin, ’94, elaborated on the set of principles guiding Stanford’s approach to ongoing federal policy challenges, which include the importance of academic freedom and of the research partnership between universities and the federal government as an engine of innovation. “Federal funding enabled us to become a great national and global university,” he said. “In turn, we demonstrate how university research can be an engine of innovation for the country and the world.” Academic freedom is a critical part of that social contract, Levin said, and “requires protection from both internal and external coercion.” However, he continued, “it is also important for universities to recognize that we have not always lived up to our internal end.” Levin acknowledged that Stanford has had speakers shouted down, published lists of harmful words, and had situations in which the careers of students or faculty were threatened for politically unpopular speech. He and provost Jenny Martinez have made free inquiry and civil discourse priorities on campus, alongside rules protecting speech and the rights of others to study and learn. “That is the right way for universities to address concerns, rather than under the threat of losing federal funding,” Levin said. “This is an exceptionally important moment for the United States to build upon the value created by its universities, not to lose the edge that those universities bring.”
In the same meeting, Levin announced the launch of a committee that will explore expanding the undergraduate population. “I think it can be an important response to one area of national concern, which is the creation of educational opportunity in this country,” he said, adding that every time Stanford admits an undergraduate, the university creates an opportunity for the admitted student, for the faculty who get to teach that student, and for a Stanford graduate to make a contribution to the world.
Signs of the times.
Photo: LiPo Ching/Stanford University
At Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, part of the School of Humanities and Sciences, each season has its own appeal. But it sure is hard to beat the beauty of spring. Photo tours from February and April show the seasonal changes, from flourishing fungi and prosperous moss in winter to fields of flowers and turkeys in spring.
A different kind of computer mouse.
Just as pilots train on flight simulators, scientists may soon perform experiments using “digital twins” of mouse brains. In a new study, Stanford Medicine researchers recorded the brain activity of mice watching action movies, such as Mad Max. (Mice mostly see movement, so lively scenes are their jam.) Then the scientists used the data collected to train an AI model, resulting in a digital version of the portion of a mouse brain that processes visual information. When given new visual stimuli, the digital twins were able to closely simulate the neural activity of the living mice. Going forward, digital twins could greatly speed up research into how the brain processes information, enable scientists to run millions of experiments simultaneously, and make it possible to perform a virtually unlimited number of experiments on essentially the same brain. No word yet on how the mice feel about Charlize Theron in rom-coms.
From doctor to patient.
Clinical professor of medicine Bryant Lin was a 50-year-old never-smoker when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He invited students to follow along in a fall-quarter course, From Diagnosis to Dialogue: A Doctor’s Real-Time Battle with Cancer. “Something terrible happened to me and I wanted to see if something good can come of it,” Lin told Stanford magazine. “I thought, as both a physician and a patient, I had something to share.” He hoped the course would help future doctors keep medicine centered on humans. “My dream is that some of you will go into cancer care,” he told his students during the final class session. Lin will be the keynote speaker at the School of Medicine’s graduation ceremony this June.
But wait, there’s more.
How does the university’s endowment work? It’s not a savings account. It’s more like a retirement fund—for someone who is supposed to live forever. You can find that story and others about how higher education works in Stanford magazine’s University Ave. collection.
Alexander Nemerov, a professor of art and art history known for his portrayal of art as a source of truth about the human experience, will deliver the university’s 2025 baccalaureate address. Learn more about him in Stanford magazine.
In a Stanford Legal Q&A, professor of law Jennifer Chacón, ’94, discusses recent unprecedented immigration actions, including the broader implications for human rights.
These frogs may be toxic, but they’re also great dads. Lauren O’Connell, an associate professor of biology, explains how she uses poison frogs in Stanford’s Organismal Biology Lab to study the neural basis of family relationships.
The 12 protestors who barricaded themselves in the university president’s office last June have been charged with vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. “We believe the decision on how to proceed with these cases rests with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office based on the evidence gathered,” university spokesperson Dee Mostofi wrote. “We respect their decision in this matter.”
In an epic showdown, men’s gymnastics fell just short of a sixth consecutive NCAA championship, losing to (2023 and 2024 runner-up) Michigan by 0.163 points.
A team of environmental scientists and medical researchers at Stanford and Harvard have linked wildfire smoke—specifically the fine particulate matter known as PM2.5—to increased emergency room visits for depression and other mood disorders.
May Book Nook recs are here, including one that offers help for getting off the productivity merry-go-round by Megan Hellerer, ’06.
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